ignite the books discussion

i just started listening to genghis khan and the making of the modern world and i'm enjoying it??? but it also sounds more like fragments of history being told with this "factual" fictional tone so i am like hmmmmm

Hannah wrote: "y...eah i think that ties back into the conversation we were having on another thread about whether or not young characters are believable in certain situations. when you make a character 13, asking A LOT from people's ability to suspend disbelief, esp in that sort of situation."

I think that's it, to extent. I know there are kids who get into drugs, alcohol, and sex at a young age, but everything about this character's vices seems fairly gratuitous because of her age. I'm also not a huge fan of fiction where everything is gritty and miserable, right down to the descriptions (if she uses the phrase "piss colored" one more time...), so that might be adding to my overall dislike of the story. There's none of Gone Girl's tension in this book either.

On a happier note, I think I'm going to start a Victoria Alexander romance novel today. I've never read anything by her, so I hope it's good!

has anyone here read the Falling Kingdoms series? I am thinking about starting it and wanted to see general opinions, especially re: the ladies, because i have been burned too many times by high fantasy books positioning the female protags as super integral to the plot only for them to...not. be.

Leah wrote: "has anyone here read the Falling Kingdoms series? I am thinking about starting it and wanted to see general opinions, especially re: the ladies, because i have been burned too many times by high fa..."

I have read it! And can say that yes, there are plot important ladies, and the main two are definitely interesting characters. The newest book took me a little by surprise, but in a good way. There are parts in all three books where the plot drags, but they're still interesting and I'm very interested in seeing how Rhodes ends it.

Leah wrote: "has anyone here read the Falling Kingdoms series?"

I read the first one when it came and wasn't too impressed with it plot-wise. Lots of talking, little action. Don't remember much else besides that!

Picked up Vampires in the Lemon Grove, The Strange Maid, and Savage Coast from the library today. HOWEVER next on my to-read list is Prophets, a book I got from the Ohioana Book Festival this past weekend with Emily. :)

I finally actually started Empire of Night, and I'm enjoying it so far! I don't think Armstrong's style is suited for high fantasy, though. Like it's not bad, I just prefer her words in an urban fantasy setting.

I read the first Falling Kingdoms book and was thoroughly unimpressed by the political set up (which never made sense) and how there was this weird attention to writing in as much blood as possible even if it wasn't plausible. But I feel like the characters had potential?

A part of me wants to finish the series but I'm tired of YA high fantasy books disappointing me. :/

Aaaaand I'm still reading Heir of Fire. I got 30 pages in and got bored and haven't really gone back.

I'm LISTENING to The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place and it's amazing though. Positively adorable.

Emily wrote: "A part of me wants to finish the series but I'm tired of YA high fantasy books disappointing me. :/

Aaaaand I'm still reading Heir of Fire. I got 30 pages in and got bored and haven't really gone back. "

Heir of Fire starts getting better once Celaena stops moping 24/7 and she and Rowan do some more serious interaction. Those two were my favorite part of that book.

Have you read Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series yet? The first book's a little slow with the set-up, but it's soooo good after that. Well developed characters, high stakes drama, slow burn romance that develops over all the books, lots of ladies being awesome, etc. I burned through all four of those books within a week once I dug into them.

I'm reading Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins right now and trying to remember what happened in the first book. I picked up Longbourn by Jo Baker for my audiobook this month.

Jess wrote: "Emily wrote: "A part of me wants to finish the series but I'm tired of YA high fantasy books disappointing me. :/

Aaaaand I'm still reading Heir of Fire. I got 30 pages in and got bored and haven'..."

I've got the first one but i haven't read it yet. I did talk to Cinda at a book con over the weekend and she was fabulous (also hilarious?) so i'm really wanting to finally get around to her books (I read The Warrior Heir years and years ago)

Seven Realms is waaaay better than the Inheritance series, though I liked them too! I think she initially started writing Seven Realms as an adult series and then decided to make it a YA at some point, which is why I think it avoids the usual trappings of YA high fantasy (instaluv, poor world building, etc.)

Well, just finished Shadow Scale, and I really enjoyed it. I'm curious to see if Hartman ends it there or if she manages to pull another surprise sequel from it. Either way I'll be happy I think.

Though if she does a sequel and Glisselda/Seraphina/Lucien and not a threesome of ruling awesomeness (look the language at the end implies it and who am I to ignore textual implications) then I will have a sad.

Now onto The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. And then I'll be all caught up on outstanding serieses! Seri? Ah who cares.

I just finished Snow Like Ashes and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Like there were parts that I enjoyed and were able to get into, but other times it felt forced and rushed and like every other YA fantasy book I've read recently. Definitely had potential and I'm probably going to read the second one (once it reaches my library) because I'm curious to see how it ends. But yeah. Meh.


But Dune. Omg.

Dune. So far I'm in love and this prose is amazing.

I THINK what is really bugging me about Empire of Night right now is that. Every new character that is introduced is a dude. Even in passing. I'm 30% in and so far the only women who have been present on the page (other than the protags)have been a girl getting harassed by a man, concubines, and graphically dead women.

idk it's disappointing for a book by Kelley Armstrong, she's usually so much better than this.

Victoria wrote: "I just finished Snow Like Ashes and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Like there were parts that I enjoyed and were able to get into, but other times it felt forced and rushed and like every ..."

I was pretty disappointed by Snow Like Ashes too. I'm hoping it's just first book set-up syndrome and it gets better with the sequel, but I'm definitely waiting to see if the library gets it instead of buying it this time around.

Hannah wrote: "I THINK what is really bugging me about Empire of Night right now is that. Every new character that is introduced is a dude. Even in passing. I'm 30% in and so far the only women who have been pres..."

tbh i was really not into the first book and am debating even reading the second :/ i wasn't a huge fan of the darkness rising series either--i think i just generally prefer kelleysi when she's writing the more adult stuff, like cainesville is so amazing and i was surprised by how much i liked her nadia stafford series

also ty everyone for your feedback with falling kingdoms! i think i'll give the first book a try and see where it goes from there

Leah wrote: "Hannah wrote: "I THINK what is really bugging me about Empire of Night right now is that. Every new character that is introduced is a dude. Even in passing. I'm 30% in and so far the only women who..."

cainesville is SO GOOD UGH give me the last book already.

i liked darkness rising, but this is probably her weakest series for me so bad. like if it wasn't by kelleysi i don't know if i'd bother with the third book? i'll probably wait until there's some kind of sale for it once it comes out.

she's usually so good with ladies i'm sad

there are some other rad ladies that come up (a spirit in a girl's body and a bandit leader's daughter) that i really liked

i think a lot of it is that this is her first real fantasy series so she's trying new things out and it's like... her fumbling first attempts. i mean, bitten wasn't that great either LOL

Welp finished Serpent Prince and loved it; Hoyt is definitely becoming a favorite of mine. Now onto Firestorm. (damn you Sanderson for releasing another book *shakes fist* you've ruined my perfect plan!!)

Shadow and Bone was better than expected. Siege and Storm was a very good continuation (accidentally illegally obtained because I was trying to translate a pseudo-Russian phrase that was in it).

(Only this would happen to me.)

yesssssssss i'm glad you enjoyed the books so far! which phrase were you trying to translate, incidentally?

are you planning on picking up Ruin and Rising any time soon?

Moi-something-or-other. I think it means 'my ruler'--yay, that one semester of Russian!

I plan on getting Ruin and Rising after finals. So sometime after the 12.

You might find this of interest if you haven't seen it: http://www.leighbardugo.com/speakravkan/ Be sure to check out the links mentioned to interviews with the author about Ravkan.

Rachel wrote: "Moi-something-or-other. I think it means 'my ruler'--yay, that one semester of Russian!

I plan on getting Ruin and Rising after finals. So sometime after the 12."

My commander, iirc. But yeah that's about the gist of it!

Well just finished Firefight, why is Sanderson so consistently good? It's kind of terrifying really.

Now onto May's book! *crosses fingers*

I just finished The Raven Boys today and immediately borrowed The Dream Thieves from my library so *u*

Well since Ember didn't work out for me it's time to start my project of re-reading my own books: starting with The Invisible Ring.

Ashe: yay, Raven Boys! I did not expect to like that series as much as I have, but it has been a lot of fun. Except for the waiting part of course.

Kael: this is the Anne Bishop one? I've read the Black Jewels trilogy and the Shadolar (sp?) pair, but not the Invisible Ring. When in the broader timeline is it set?

Dreams At Dusk wrote: "Kael: this is the Anne Bishop one? I've rea..."

Yes. Timeline-wise it's a prequel, a few hundred years before Daughter I think. If you vaguely remember in Queen Deamon makes a mention of knowing a Warlord a while back who helped a Queen do a Thing, this is that Warlord and Queen (and Thing).

Currently immersed in Vampires in the Lemon Grove. Some of the stories are just...exactly what I want to write. Karen Russell does so well the thing I want to do (magical realism in various time periods). If there's a short story collection you love, please rec me!

Dreams At Dusk wrote: "Ashe: yay, Raven Boys! I did not expect to like that series as much as I have, but it has been a lot of fun. Except for the waiting part of course.

Yeah! I am really enjoying it. I mean I haven't started the second book yet, but I liked the flowy way of her words although I really disliked the jumping POVs without any break e_e

Has anyone read the Six of Crows excerpt? It's a lot.

Yes! It was pretty long, but it did it's job well and I want more! *grabby hands*

I am very interested to know more about (view spoiler)[the drug/experiment they're using on Grisha (hide spoiler)]. And I just love thieves/street magic/underworld stories.

I'm super interested in knowing more about that spoiler also?? And the Grisha girl who is about to destroy the shit out of the asshole trying enact said spoiler, I would read a whole book about just her tbh.

Also, I finished Empire of Night, and the ending definitely saved what was an otherwise average book for me. It was basically too much of a dickfest for me to really get into.

AND I read Atoning, which is a short story by the same author set in the Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising series, and it was super fun! The overall tone of it was a little preachy (remember it's okay to want to take it slow when working up to sex, but it's also okay to bang away! Trustworthy teenagers should be trusted to make their own decisions regarding sex and booze and college!), but in a good way. Those are good messages for babbies to have haha, even if it was a little heavy handed. The actual story part of it was super fun, and it was great to catch up with these characters that I super adore.

AND FINALLY i have started Prophecy by Ellen Oh, and. It's a thing, i guess? I really really want to like it, but the writing is quite juvenile - it feels like reading a text book at times, the author is not super great at the whole show don't tell thing. Also there have been some weird moments of like...'horrible thing just happened, crack an unrelated joke for the sake of humorous writing!' that have thrown me out of the groove. I'ma keep going with it though!

I've read the Six of Crows excerpt, yup. Annnd, wrote a fic already. Also working on a theory post about what happened in the referenced spoiler. Specifically, possible 'hows'.

I'm still working my way through Heir of Fire given work has been sucking a lot of time lately. Will be starting the book of the month soon after and A Court of Thorn and Roses. I also just picked up something called A Book of Air and Shadows that sounds interesting.

uuugh okay I have put a solid effort into Prophecy, but like. when everyone is dead and a city has been overthrown and I still don't care about literally anything, that is probably a sign it's time to stop reading

I'm reading Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James, which I should have finished by this afternoon, and then I'm planning on starting An Ember in the Ashes.

Haven't read much in the last few weeks; just haven't been in the mood for it! And now I'm super far behind on my reading challenge. Time to play catch up.

I've finally started Wolf Hall. It's as good as everyone said! I'm not much for present tense, but her writing is so interesting that I don't mind it.

Well...just finished the Black Jewels quartet (aka the four books in the series I am more than happy to re-read over ans over again), and even though I've been reading these books for years the ending still gets to me.

So now I'm taking a brief break from the re-read project to read Terminal.

Finished An Ember in the Ashes, which was an okay read. Not as blown away as I thought I should've been by the hype.

Now starting on Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, which is apparently a Beauty and the Beast retelling and, by god, do I have a weakness for BatB retellings. Please be good, book!

i am almost (80%) done with End of Days the last book in the Angelfall/Penryn and the End of Days series and it hurts so good

I just finished Song of Achilles a couple days ago (LOVED IT).

Now I'm starting Red Rising. It was highly recommended by a friend, so hopefully it lives up to her review. *crosses fingers*

Victoria wrote: "I just finished Song of Achilles a couple days ago (LOVED IT).

Now I'm starting Red Rising. It was highly recommended by a friend, so I hopefully it lives up to her review. *crosses fingers*"

Red Rising is pretty good once you get past the set-up parts and into the actual school/challenge bits. I'm thinking about picking up the sequel soon.

Continuing the Raven Cycle.

I forgot how good the books are.

Jess wrote: "Finished An Ember in the Ashes, which was an okay read. Not as blown away as I thought I should've been by the hype.

Now starting on Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, which is apparently a Beauty a..."

Cruel Beauty is even more a retelling of Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis than it is Beauty and the Beast which i think is a good thing to keep in mind because it comes off less as BatB than TWHF. also the ending is trippy which is completely in the legacy of TWHF.

(till we have faces is one of my Favourite Books)

I'm reading a ton of books for my YA reference class that starts in a month. I had to set aside An Ember in the Ashes (which i'm loving but it's very much My Thing so). I just finished Jellicoe Road (ehh) and The Kingdom of Little Wounds (also ehhhh) and now I'm reading a nonfiction book about the Romanovs.

I haven't read Till We Have Face, so unfortunately I didn't see the similarities in Cruel Beauty. I did like it a lot, even if the twist was fairly easy to spot in the beginning.

Right now I'm reading another Eloisa James book, The Ugly Duchess, and listening to Pierce Brown's Golden Son. I ended up dropping the last audiobook I'd picked out because it was putting me to sleep and that's not something you want when you're driving!

Well just finished Terminal and that's quite the cliffy for us Reichses.

Now to re-read Artemis Fowl and hoping it's as good as I remember.

Well just finished Terminal and that's quite the cliffy for us Reichses.

Now to re-read Artemis Fowl and hoping it's as good as I remember.